Egyptian authorities rejected reports that President Mohammad Mursi has canceled his visit to the United States due to the protests against him

Egyptian authorities rejected reports that President Mohammad Mursi has canceled his visit to the United States due to the protests against him.

“We did not receive any official remarks on the declaration from the United States or the European Union,” the news website Egypt Independent quoted presidential spokesperson Yasser Ali as saying in a statement on Tuesday.

In September, Ali announced that Washington had extended an official invitation to the Egyptian president to visit the US on December 17.

On November 22, Mursi signed a controversial decree allowing him to “issue any decision or law that is final and not subject to appeal.”

Since then, thousands of people have converged on Liberation Square to protest against the decree and the speedy adoption of a draft constitution.

On Tuesday, tens of thousands of anti-Mursi protesters encircled the presidential palace in the capital. Nearly 20 people were injured in clashes with police. But on Wednesday, Reuters said Mursi returned to the palace this morning.